Abid Qureshi, a partner at Latham & Watkins in Washington, DC, was nominated to the US District Court for the District of Columbia.

"I am pleased to nominate Mr. Qureshi to serve on the United States District Court bench," Obama said in a statement. "I am confident he will serve the American people with integrity and a steadfast commitment to justice."

Whether or not Qureshi's's nomination is confirmed before Obama leaves office remains to be seen.

Senate Republicans have vowed not to hold any hearings on the matter after Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland to the US Supreme Court in March to replace Justice Antonin Scalia, who died a month earlier.

Qureshi's nomination comes amid a racially charged presidential election campaign waged by GOP nominee Donald Trump. The real-estate mogul has suggested that a judge of Muslim or Latino descent could be unfit for the job due to his own controversial rhetoric aimed at both groups.

Over the course of his campaign, Trump has repeatedly vowed to keep some Muslims out of the US and subject some immigrants to ideological tests as a prerequisite to entry.